Environmentally Friendly Materials, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire

This two-storey detached house in Hertfordshire was built in 2004. The house was constructed using prefabricated timber panels and was designed to reduce the building’s carbon footprint.

Description

This residential property was built off-site using a structured solid timber shell with pre-cut window and door openings. The building took only two days to assemble on-site, reducing construction costs and minimising waste generated on-site.

The wall panel and floor system is inherently flexible and self supporting. Timber panels are not only robust and a sustainable material, but they also offer good thermal and acoustic properties. The building’s ecological impact is also very low mainly because timber is a carbon negative material.

The benefits of using prefabricated timber panels therefore include:

Increased building envelope performance

Credible environmental performance

Reduced waste (maximising the efficiencies of factory production)

Fast construction resulting in improved construction programme

Robust and durable structural components

Eurban, the contractor, claims that each cubic metre of timber saves almost a tonne of carbon dioxide emissions compared with a brick or block structure.